A gift from the battlefield
by kamaleen
Summary: ...The old Master Jedi said that Onyx needed to face his fear again if he wished to get over the past – and Onyx agreed, but he did not agree because he thought he could recover. Onyx agreed because he wanted to get out of the Temple. He could not clear his head by staying there. All he hoped now was that he might be able to clear his head in the battlefield. Or die in it...
1. Chapter 1

Hi! This is my second Star Wars the Clone Wars fanfic that I post on AO3. This fiction starts from around the middle of season 2.

At first I thought about writing about Rex/Ahsoka, but then I decided against it because I'm afraid I might make them be too OOC. So I decided to set it all up with my original characters, both clones, Jedis, and some Separatists. However, I still can't resist writing a bit of other of my OTP, so there will be Cody/Obi-Wan in this story too. [I ship Obi-Wan with so many people. Cody/Obi-wan, Anakin/Obi-wan, Darth Maul/Obi-wan etc. But since I've written Darth-Maul/Obi-Wan, so I decided to write Cody/Obi-Wan this time.]

I have no beta reader, all mistakes are mine. And also, I own nothing, except for my imagination.

/

* * *

/

"Ah, those shinnies are here."

"I wonder how long they will last…"

"Shut it Chuck, no one wan' ta scare 'em, mate."

Colt rolled his eyes as his teammates kept making comments of the new Clone Troopers who were just delivered to aid their legion - the _Bomber_ Legion. [ _At first it was called the 703_ _rd_ _Legion, until the former General decided to unofficially change its name because every troopers here love to blow things, which weren't given orders that should they blow it up or not, up in battles. Even that the Legion isn't blowing things as much as before - they still go with the name Bomber. And he is fine with this name._ ]

Ships after ships went into the hanger to deliver its passengers. New faces, new numbers, shiny armours, and half of them would disappear after four to five battlefields. He was not exaggerating. Half of his classes from Kamino were gone by now. He wondered how much would be left by the end of the war; if the war would ever end.

"I agree with Quest," he decided to step in before Check made more comments that might accidentally be heard by the rookies. Well, maybe it's also his fault too. He shouldn't agree with Chuck that they met at the main hanger of the cruiser.

"Thank you Commander." Quest, the one who was trying to shut Check's big mouth, nodded at him. Colt smiled behind his helmet. The Clone Trooper Commander then turned to look at his brothers and comrades. Chuck, an ARC trooper with a big mouth and long faint scar on his left cheek. He could keep talking all day if he wanted.

The other clone sitting next to Chuck was Quest, a sergeant and a medic with shaved head and a bird tattoo on his left jaw. He always told Chuck to shut up when anyone or the situation needed. Quest and Chuck graduated together from Kamino. They were at this legion since they graduated, and had survived battlefields after battlefields.

"Come on, it's the truth. Half my class are gone by now." Chuck rolled his eyes and continued to make more comments about their new comrades. Colt heard Quest muttering something about getting back to the medical bay. Colt remembered telling Quest he would not be shutting Chuck up, and the medic just sighed before he left.

Colt heard another clone besides him moved. It's Sergeant Vash, his most trusted sharp shooter in this legion. The sharp shooter stood up and stretched. Colt though he would never know how and why Vash decided to have long hair, just to tie them into a small bun behind his head. However, it that's what his friend wanted, he would not pry.

"Isn't it your queue to give speeches or anything?" Vash said as he watched Chuck made his way toward those new troopers, probably to scare them for fun. Colt knew he should stop his friend before anyone gets hurt, but again, he felt too tired to do so. He still hadn't had a chance to rest since getting back from the battle three hours ago. Just finished writing the damn report.

"Not now, I've scheduled the captains to take care of their new member first." Colt replied, nodding toward his men that started gathering the rookies and arranged them. The pilots were leaded to their working zone, medic were leaded to their bunks which would be near the medical bay, and the rest of the troopers were divided to join their new squads – which was in need of someone to replace their fallen members. "By the way, speech is Jedi's thing. My job is to make sure they are in lines." He added before rotated his neck, letting his bone made a cracking sound.

"Whatever you say Boss," Vash mused before he grabbed his helmet. The sharp shooter then proceeded toward the group of new sharp shooters who were just arrived, probably to greet them and give them a short tour around the cruiser – their new moving home named _Conservator_.

Colt sighed. It's almost the time for his meeting with the general, he better get going. After that, he hoped he would have some rest.

It didn't take long for Colt to reach the bridge and the command centre. The Jedi master he served under was already there. Actually, he though she had probably been there all the time after their got back from the successful mission of securing one of the Republic's base from the Separatist. And from the look on her face, Colt knew there was a new mission popped up.

"General," Colt let the Jedi knew he was here as he walked toward her. Jedi Master Audrially Gyularen turned to smile at him. She is a female Nautolan Jedi, with an easy-going yet collective personality. She was a good leader. She cared for them and did not treat them liked they were just clones. General Gyularen always reminded Colt that they all have life and their own characters, not just expendable tools.

"Colt, always on time." The General smiled at him. Colt took his helmet off and nodded, walking toward the hologram on the large table in front of the General. Besides the Jedi Master stood a human male with an always serious face - Admiral Sangara. He had joined them in the previous mission. It seemed like they're going to work together again in this mission.

Colt's feeling toward the Admiral was quite different from which he felt toward General Gyularen. With the General he felt like he was with a comrade more than a boss. With Admiral Sangara he felt like serving under a boss who cared nothing about his soldiers. However, Admiral Sangara was always about business and his plans were always excellent, so Colt decided to be a professional and just did as he was told.

As Colt had guessed, Admiral immediately went straight to the point as soon as Colt was at the table. Behind him stood other Clone captains and some Clone lieutenants. In the distance, Colt heard the one of the lieutenants at the control panels announced that the ship is going into a hyper-space.

A second later, the ship jumped into the hyper-space. And Admiral decided to begin the briefing.

"The Separatist is attacking our base on Szyet." Admiral Sangara said as he pointed at the spot on the hologram map. Colt looked at the red dot on a small planet and mentally sighed. He was going to get only two hours of sleep or less than that. "General Amersu is on her way, but she might not reach there in time. Our mission is to make sure they don't get the base. And if they have it, we must take it back."

"I've a feeling that we will have to take back the base, and the fight is going to be chaotic." General Gyularen continued. "I want all gunships and fighters ready. We're going to meet a great resistance before landing…"

The briefing went on for a few more minutes before General Gyularen dismissed them all, excepted for Colt and a Clone captain name Blitz who was Admiral's sub-commander. They discussed about the strategy and the resistance they were going to meet at Szyet.

By the time the briefing ended, Colt felt like taking a short nap before he had to get back to the bridge to prepare. He was going to leave as General Gyularen called him.

"Yes General?" He asked, turning back to see if she wanted anything.

"Walk with me," the female Nautolan simply said before she leaded the way out of the command centre. Colt followed silently. He knew the General had something she wanted to discuss with him. She always told Colt to walk with her whenever she felt like they needed more privacy for the matter she was going to speak of.

"What is it General?" He asked when they were out of everyone's ear shots. He had served under General Gyularen for years; he knew immediately when she was concerned or worried.

"I need you to keep an eye on Admiral Sangara." She said, nearly whispering. "I've sensed that he is up to something. I hope he won't change side soon, but there is a possibility."

"Understood," Colt nodded. He also understood the Jedi's hidden message; you know what you have to do.

"One more thing," General Gyularen slowed down as now they were approaching one of the main corridors of the ship. There were clones walking here and there. Colt guessed that this matter is not as pestilent as the first one. "I'm going to have a padawan." She said, smiling. Colt felt his eyes widened. _There is going to be a kid on this battlecruiser? Or his boss is going to quit fighting the Separatist to train a kid?_

"That sounds great ma'am," He decided to reply in a more decent way than speaking his thought out loud. Colt liked serving under General Gyularen, he didn't feel like getting to know a new boss soon. "You will be a great teacher." He added with a bitter feeling inside his mouth. _Really? Is she going to leave them now?_

"I'm not sure about that Colt." The General sighed. "You see – we are in the middle of a galactic war. I'm not confident in teaching him to keep peace while we're going to open fire at the enemy's fleet very soon." She sighed, looking ahead of them. Colt wasn't sure if she was finding a word or was she just lost to her thought.

 _So her padawan is going to be a male._ Colt mentally noted. He wished to know more about General Gyularen's new padawan but deciding not to ask. It's not his business to pry.

"He will understand the situation ma'am." Colt replied as best as he could; he was relieved she wasn't leaving them. "May I ask when will he arrive?" He added, hoping to know more about the soon-to-be new member of their legion. A Jedi learner, a.k.a. a padawan, would have the rank of a commander automatically. Colt hoped he could work with this new lightsaber wielder as easy and smooth as with General Gyularen.

"According to the schedule - he will arrive shortly after we secure the base on Szyet, or while we're trying to secure it." The Jedi replied with a sigh. "You should get some rest. We have little to no time to recover before we reached Szyet. Make sure your men are ready. I want this to end as quickly as possible."

"Yes, General." Colt saluted and went on his way. He was going to get some rest before the briefing at the main hanger. And this was the hundredth time Colt felt thankful that every clone commander have their own room. He felt great that he could shred his armours around the room without caring where they landed. After that Colt got in his bunk and was fast asleep in less than a minute.

* * *

"Are you alright sir?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

Onyx sighed after the pilot assistant walked away. This was the fifth time anyone ask him that in one rotation. For the Force's sake, he was not a glass!

The young Jedi sighed and decided to walk around the ship. Of course there was not much space in the Starship he was in. In the end he ended up back in his room, curving up in the corner. He tried to tell himself he was going to be okay, really trying to make himself believe what he said. It's only a matter of time before he would have to face the truth. However, Onyx hoped that he could keep his problems to himself as long as possible. He did not want to look weak in front of others, especially when his new master was probably going to spend a lot of time with the Republic troopers. He could not be seen as weak in front of them. Jedi's duty was to lead the trooper in battles, and that's what a weakling could not do.

Onyx stayed in that position for a while before he decided to try to sleep again. He had had restless sleeps for eight times by now, and it's not fun. He kept dreaming about the past, and woke up feeling useless than ever. Staying at the Temple after that…incident happened had done him no good. So Master Yoda sent him here. The old Master Jedi said that Onyx needed to face his fear again if he wished to get over the past – and Onyx agreed, but he did not agree because he thought he could recover. Onyx agreed because he wanted to get out of the Temple. He could not clear his head by staying there. All he hoped now was that he might be able to clear his head in the battlefield.

 _Or die in it..._

The young Jedi shook his though away before he rolled over and got up. It seemed like he wouldn't be able to sleep for a while - which was fine by him. Instead, Onyx thought he should get used to it.

* * *

The battle over Szyet's Sky was chaotic and worse than they had predicted. The Republic fleet had to pull back after an unsuccessful try to reach the base below. They had to regroup and waited for the reinforcement. The losing left Colt with bitterness in his mouth as he had watched some of his brother perished from the explosion. He knew it's typical for war; he saw this almost every day. However, it didn't mean he could not feel the lost.

Colt just finished listening to his men giving him a whole damage report of the ships and the missing [presume dead] pilots when he was called to the bridge. The Clone commander mentally sighed and quickly made his way there. Thirty pilots had gone, along with several gunners. This does not sound good.

"The Separatist's fleet is bigger than us. We are outnumbered; we need a new plan of attack."

General Amersu's voice spoke as Colt walked into the command centre. In the middle of the room were General Gyularen, Admiral Sangara, Captain Blitz, and a hologram of General Amersu. So Colt walked toward them and gave a short report of the whole fleet, except General Amersu's cruiser. Admiral Sangara said nothing as General Gyularen nodded to his word. After that they got back to discussing the strategy of their attack.

"…we have to take out the main command ship if we want to get pass them." General Gyularen said as she grew the circle over the hologram picture that represent the main Separatist command ship. "Which is heavily protected by other ships, except for this…" She pointed the area under the ship's belly. "If my fighter squad and I can make my way under the fleet, I'm sure I can bomb it."

"We're going to need a distraction for this plan to work." Admiral Sangara said, pointing at the ships around the Separatist's command ship. "A huge group of fighters should have their interests."

"That mean we are going to lose too many ships." General Amersu said. From her tone, Colt knew she did not agree with the Admiral's idea to sacrifice a huge number of their pilots.

"What do you think about this Colt?" General Gyularen turned toward him, and Colt nodded. He already had an idea.

"I think I know how to get their attention for General Gyularen to sneak in unnoticed." He said, moving the hologram pictures of both Republic and Separatist cruiser around. "We hyperdrive back very close to where they are. Begin the air strike immediately after arriving. This should take them by surprise. The proximity can make the droids confused for a moment, which we can take for our advantages." He had a feeling that AdmiralSangara was about to argue, so he kept talking. "Then, General Gyularen and the Silver squad hyperdrived after us to the nearly exact same point. Those Clankers will be too busy fighting us to notice." He moved the ships to the arriving point as he said, which was too close for both Separatist and Republic safety standard.

"One miss-calculated will fail the mission." Admiral Sangara said, frowning. "How can you be so sure that this will work?" His tone was thicker, showing them that he did not like Colt's idea at all.

"Our crews are the best sir. There is no way we are going to miss-calculated. If we don't take them by surprise, we will likely have to wait for reinforcements before we can attack again." Colt replied and kept his face emotionless as he prepared for the comments from Sangara – who was looking at him in a very deprecating way. However, one of the techs working in the bridge spoke up before the Admiral could upbraid him for proposing such a reckless plan one.

"Sir, a Republic Starship from Coruscant is coming out of a hyperspace."

"It seems like my student has arrived." General Gyularen said. Colt could tell that she felt bad for her student to arrive in the time like this. "Excuse me," She said and quickly left. Colt mentally sighed as he was left with Admiral Sangara. And as he had suspected, the Admiral didn't agreeing to his idea.

"This is reckless Commander. I cannot allow that." The Admiral said.

"But I like his idea." General Amersu said, which had Colt grinning inside as he saw Sangara's disbelieved face. "However, we should meet half way. Although your plan is truly reckless, commander; I still see the potential of it."

"If you say so, General." Sangara grumbled, and Colt mentally grinned.

* * *

 _So… this is the Conservator – home of the 703_ _rd_ _Legion, a.k.a. Bomber._

Onyx looked around the hanger as much as he could while the ship was landing. There was a change in the plan. It seemed like the mission before his arrival wasn't finished, so he didn't meet with his new master at the Republic base on Szyet as he had been instructed.

The gate of the ship opened and Onyx stepped out. His hands were shaking as he walked out of the ship. A female Nautolan Jedi was waiting for him. His new master, Master Gyularen smiled at him. Onyx smiled back. His hands were still trembling, so he balled them into fists. Onyx cursed himself. He could not hold a lighsaber with shaking hands. And if he could not hold a lightsaber, he could not fight.

His hands trembled even more.

* * *

"…it' too reckless."

"Admiral, this is the best we can do."

Colt wanted to roll his eyes at how stubborn the Admiral was. He agreed with General Amersu that this was the best way to defeat the Separatist fleet. This was war, and there was risks. There was no plan which could guarantee them 100% victory.

"What did I miss?"

The door slid open with General Amersu's voice. Finally! Someone to put an end to this argument. He corrected himself as she walked near, wanting to look like he had been paying attention to General Amersu and Admiral Sangara's argument. A split second after that he stepped to the left on autopilot. And turned to greet the Nautolan Jedi Jeneral.

General Gyularen walked in with her new padawan walking behind. The Padawan immediately captured Colt's interest. He was a teenage Estemian, one of the humanoid species Colt only saw in the hologram in 'galactic species cyclopaedia'; he had to study it when he was on Kamino. This was the first time Colt had ever met one in person.

General Gyularen's new padawan's clothes were similar to those Jedi he had met. Long loose sleeves tunics – the outer was very light brown while the inners were white, a brown leather belt with lightsaber attached to it at the side, long dark brown pants, and dark boots. The boy had shaved both side of his head, but let the hair on the other place grow. He tied a few of them into a small braid behind his ear – distinguishing of a padawan. The rest of his hair was tied into a short ponytail. There were four small horns grew from the side of his head, 1 inch above his ears. The horns were around 3-5 inches long, and had the same colour as his skin.

Colt liked what he saw; then he saw the boy's eyes. They were black liked an obsidian, round, and pure. With oval shape face, and alabaster skin; the boy was very attractive.

 _Wait, what was I thinking? No, there is nothing special. I was just observing him, just liked when I observed those rookies._ The clone commander mentally argued with himself while he watched the padawan took his place slightly behind General Gyularen at the table.

 _There is something in his eyes. There… is it concerns? Anxiety? Insecurity? Typical. This is probably the first day on the battlefield. Welcome to the club kid._ Colt thought, turning his attention back in time to hear General Gyularen introduced her new padawan.

"This is my new padawan – Onyx Chatho." The Nautolan Jedi said, before introducing others around the table. "Onyx, this is General Amersu. Admiral Sangara. Commander Colt, and Captain Blitz."

 _Onyx? That's a good name._ The clone commander thought, watching the boy said nothing and bowed slightly. Colt suddenly felt like he wanted to hear the boy's voice. He immediately shook his thought away of course. He told himself this was not the time to get carried away. However, he caught himself kept glancing at the new Jedi from times to times during the meeting.

They ended up with General Amersu's plan - which was immediately put the plan to action. The plan was liked what Colt had proposed, but changed the time General Gyularen and her squad would come in. Plus, General Amersu wanted more than one squads behind, and also one RAS Cruiser Savior. Or…at least some of them might have a chance to get away in case anything went wrong. Moreover, General Gyularen and her crews would hyperspace to above and below the Separatis fleet, and will bomb them from both side so the only way the Separatist could escape was to go back to Szyet.

General Gyularen would lead the fighter squad while Captain Blitz was assigned to the RAS Cruiser Savior. General Amersu and Admiral Sangara would remain on their command cruiser. Also, General Gyularen's new padawan was left with them – which was sensible since no one would want to take the newly arrived kid straight into the battlefield.

* * *

"As soon as we can draw the other ships away from their command ship, you are clear to go."

General Amersu said to his master as the cruisers went into hyperspace. His new master gave a short replied before the communication was cut. Onyx listened but said nothing. His darted around the room, watching and observing. This was like those few months ago, when he was with…

 _No, don't think about it right now. I have to focus._

He inhaled sharply, turning to observe the pilots on the cruiser. The past was still haunting him. This place looked so familiar with the _Militancy_. Troopers were everywhere, doing their job. Onyx felt like sinking down to the floor and tried to make himself believe that the incident didn't happen. He sighed, then turned to observe the deck and was met with curious brown eyes. The clone trooper besides him smiled. Onyx wanted to smile back, but he couldn't.

"First time on the cruiser sir?"

The clone, Commander Colt. Onyx wasn't surprised that Master Gyularen left him on the cruiser. No one wanted to take a newly arrived leaner out in the battlefield, especially the Jedi learner who still had trauma and hallucination constantly attacking his conscious from times to times.

"No, Commander." He shook his head, feeling awkward to be called 'sir' when this clone had more experience in the battlefield than him. "And please, just Onyx. Or Chatho - whichever you prefer." He added.

"What about 'Commander Chatho'?" The clone said. It startled Onyx even that the Jedi learner didn't let it showed.

 _Commander Chatho? That's ridiculous. I cannot be a commander. I have proved that… Grrr… my head hurts again. I know I have to face my fear, but this headache is killing me._

"No, just Onyx or Chatho." Onyx replied, mentally grimaced at how sharp and hoarse his voice was. So he tried to smoothen it in his next sentence. "I'm going to be the worst commander ever." He wanted to keep it short. Didn't want his memories to resurface. His head started throbbing as he tried to fight it before his bitter memories were released.

"It makes me feel awkward and impolite to call you without your military title." The commander said. Onyx had a feeling that Commander Colt was surprised with his answer - even that the clone didn't let it show. "Please let me call you as commander." The clone's voice was neutral, no disgust or lies were showed. However, Commander Colt might just try to be polite. Onyx did not know who know about him, but he better be careful.

"If you insist." Onyx sighed, but decided that arguing with his new comrade was not going to do him any good. So he observed the command deck instead.

 _Techs are busy, everyone is busy. I should try to get use to it. Don't want my new Jedi Master to be worried._ Onyx told himself, subconsciously clenched and unclenched his hands. This place looked absolutely like the first command deck he had visited several times. Onyx mentally sighed. He really hated himself right now.

Talking about the former command deck he always visited made Onyx gridded his teeth together. He tried to tell himself he was at the new place, and everything was going to be alright.

"Gentlemen, we are going out of hyperspace." General Amersu's voice called, making everyone snap back to action. Onyx turned his attention back to his surroundings. He had felt shudders travelling up and down his spine, and the creeping sense of unease and danger. Something was telling him that taking back Szyet was not going to be easy.

 _No, focus. The future is incalculable. We are going into battles now. Even that you are here not in the fighter – you still have to concentrate._

Onyx decide to cross his hands in front of his chest. If they started trembling again, at least no one would see.

* * *

The battle was as chaotic as anyone had expected. His new master was clearly a very skilled pilot. She leaded the squad to destroy the command ship in one straight go. After that they circled the rest of the Separatist's fleet and bombed them to pieces. Also, Colt was impressed with some of the new pilots who just arrived. They did well in their first mission, and the damage report was in the acceptable level.

Admiral Sangara was too proud to admit that the plan worked out well for them, even when General Gyularen teased him about it. Colt had to suppress the urge to smirk.

The clone commander turned half way to see if the new jedi commander was alright. Commander Chatho was doing well by far. Right now he was reading about the Bomber's arsenal in the datapad, probably to get to know this legion. Colt wondered why this kid didn't want to be called a commander.

 _Self-conscious? Doesn't believe himself to worth the title?_

"Are you impressed, commander?" He decided to ask the Jedi out of nowhere. The padawan was a bit startled as he turned to look at Colt _. The kid is so damn self-conscious. But he is also…cute?_

"A bit." The Jedi replied. "I just want to make sure everything we need are stocked."

"You don't have to worry about that." Colt said, keying the order for the report about the supply ship arriving in the datapad. "The supplied ships had arrived a few hours ago. We are well-stocked and ready to go."

The Estemian nodded as he looked at the list. Colt could tell that the kid was reading and paying close attention to it. The jedi learner's face was neutral, until something flicked in his black eyes as he read the list of new clones which were here to refill the legion. Onyx looked suddenly liked he was upset. Also, Colt could tell that the boy had been struggling to maintain his calm posture during the air strike. There must be something bugging him.

"Is everything alright?"

Colt decided to ask. He wanted to know what's going on in the kid's head. Colt could see the boy breathed in carefully, so the clone commander made sure he kept his face as calm as could be expected. He had a feeling that Chatho would be more upset if he knew Colt had saw the small slip in his self-control.

"Everything is fine." Chatho nodded and handed the datapad back to Colt, then he turned to face the clone commander with a struggling smile on his face. "Master Gyularen expects me to be at the hanger by the time she returns." Chatho said with an emotionless before turning away.

Colt had an unreadable feeling about the new Jedi learner as he watched the Estemian walked out of the room. Chatho was still young, but it seemed like he had been through a trauma. Actually, Colt was sure there must be something happened before the boy was assigned to be general Gyularen's padawan. Although he had no prove about his theory, yet his instinct was yelling that it's correct. There must be something happened before that Estemian jedi leaner was assigned to be here. Something grave and unpleasant to remember.

He decided to carry on with his duty. They had defeated the fleet, but they hadn't won yet. Now they would have to focus on the Separatist army at their base. Colt assumed that they would meet with great resistance from the Separatist down there – which he was not wrong.

Artillery started shooting as soon as they were in range. General Gyularen immediately jumped into her fighter after instructed her padawan the plan and told him to go with Colt. She would blow the way for their gunships to land. They needed their troopers and tanks on the ground if they wanted to defeat those droids. Their primary target was to take their first base back. The base was protected by shield generators, so they had to take it back the hard way.

Their rendezvous was in the forest kilometres away from the defensive line before the base -which meant they were probably going to meet another airstrike before landing. Colt grimaced. One of the worst death for him was being blown with the ship. Dead without a chance to fight was a bitter way to die.

* * *

"I will blow the way for the gunships. Go with Commander Colt and meet me on the ground."

"Yes master." Onyx nodded before he stepped back as his new Master started the engine of her fighter. The hanger was full with clone troopers running around, filling in the gunships and fighters. It made he felt nostalgia at some point. However, he knew this was not the time. He had a defend line to break, and artilleries to destroy.

Onyx turned and saw Commander Colt waiting for him. The clone commander had already put on his helmet. The dark strip decorated his armours, distinguishing him from others.

"Let's go commander." Colt called and Onyx nodded. He followed Colt to the nearby gunship and stepped on. The door then closed softly before the ship took off.

Inside the gunship, it was quiet despite the sounds of the engines and the blasting outside. The clones were quiet, as if they were afraid Onyx would be annoyed if they talked. However, after a minute of whispering, they eventually starting the conversation since Onyx didn't say anything.

"How many clankers will you blast today Quest?"

"Chuck, I'm a medic."

"Oh, come on!"

Two clones on his left were talking. One was the medic, the other seemed to be the clone specialist in heavy weapons. The other clones were talking as well, mostly about the battlefield that awaited them. Onyx let their voice surrounded him. It made him felt calmer while traveling to the ground with the noise of the artilleries and other ship surrounds them. His hands had stopped trembling, good. Actually, he was using the voice of the clones around him to block the voice of the battlefield out.

Onyx stole a glance toward the clone commander standing beside him. He wondered if the commander was savouring the moment of being with their comrades - secretly celebrating and enjoying the small luxury in the battle of knowing that their friends were still alive. Onyx had been surrounded with corps before; he wasn't going to take this moment for granted.

However, the moment of luxury was short, as the Separatist managed to blast one wing of their gunship away when they were around hundred meters away from the ground. The ship jerked and immediately lost the altitude.

"We are going down!"

The pilot shouted from the comn. Onyx's tightened his grip on the holster.

"Brace yourself!"

Commander Colt shouted. Onyx didn't know if the clone commander had suddenly moved near him or not. But the situation at hand was more important for him to focus on the change in small details. He refocused himself to the Force instead, trying to slow the ship down so the crash wouldn't fatal. He hoped so.

The crash wasn't as bad as Onyx feared. They all got out of the burning ship alive. Onyx immediately went to check the pilot while Commander Colt leaded the clones to take covers behind the trees. The pilot was heavy injured while their gunners were dead. Onyx broke the glass with the Force and pulled their pilot out. He turned and found that the medic was already besides him.

"I got him sir." The medic said and Onyx nodded. He then leaped out of the cover besides the ship, lightsaber in his hand. There were also Separatists droids in the forest with their small bunker with turrets here and there. Onyx gridded his teeth, this wasn't going to be easy. The worst was, they were spotted.

"Bunkers and turrets" Commander Colt said, grunting. "They are going to be a problems."

"I will take out those turrets." Onyx said, looking up and around. He knew how to make this work.

* * *

Commander Chatho was less panicked with the situation than what Colt had thought. Actually, the boy knew the drill. He scaled up the tree and made a run to those turrets without being detected. As soon as he was above one, the young Estemian strike quickly, taking the droids out before using the turrets to blast the clankers around it, clearing the way for Colt and his men.

They kept advancing like that until they were at the rendezvous point. General Amersu was already there with her troops. Commander kept his eyes on Chatho as they fought. The kid was really far better than what he thought. It's almost like the young Estemian had been in a battlefield before.

 _Did he?_

However, as it was definitely not the priority here. Colt kept his focus on destroying the artilleries than thinking about the new comrades.


	2. Chapter 2

"That's the last of them."

A clone trooper who was a sharp shooter named Vash said as they watched the artillery they were assigned to destroy exploded. Onyx nodded. Relief washed over him as he didn't lose anyone in his team during the operation.

After reaching the rendezvous, Master Amersu immediately divided them into small teams to take out the artilleries. His master joined them on the ground when Onyx was about to take off to his target. However, his master didn't go with him. She and Master Amersu would distract the Separatists while Onyx and the clones destroyed their canons and bunkers.

"Yes," Onyx nodded, watching the pieces of it that survived falling down to the ground. "Let's regroup," and he turned to walk back to the rendezvous point without looking back. However, he didn't expect Vash to speak up.

"Commander Chatho,"

"Yes?" The Estemian stopped, turning back. His heart beat fast, afraid of what Vash might said. _Was I good enough? Was he going to lecture him of how to lead people? Did I do something wrong?_

"We are glad to have you with us Commander." The sharp shooter said. His words caught Onyx of guard. _These troopers are glad to have me with them? Did I hear it right?_

"Thank you." Onyx nodded, feeling warmness spreading from his heart to every part of his body. He suddenly felt a lot better. Maybe this was going to be better than what he had imaged.

However, Onyx was not allowed to savour the good moment after their small victory for long. When he regrouped with Master Amersu and his new master, bad news was waiting. Wahilk, the Separatist general who took control of the base right now had sent them a massage. He wanted both Master Amersu and Master Gyularen to surrender within an hour, or he was going to slaughter the native people of Szyet he hold hostage at the base one by one. And he was sure to send the video out for the whole galaxy to know what happen. To know that two Jedis had risked the life of innocents for their victories.

Onyx was disgusted at the hologram of Wahilk. He let it showed on his face but said nothing. Besides him, his master was already planning the plan to recapture the base and saved the hostage.

His master was looking at the hologram map, along with Commander Colt, General Amersu, and a hologram of Admiral Sangara.

"Colt. There is a tunnel deep into the mountain that would lead you and your team right under the base." Master Gyularen said as she pointed at the entry point which would lead the clones right to the underground prison. "Master Amersu and I will buy you time while you rescue all of the prisoners."

Onyx looked at the underground tunnels. He frowned. Szyet was notorious of vicious beasts who lived in the dark underground caves. These clones were going to die if they were not careful. They could not see in the dark, and some of the creature here could camouflage. Jedi might be able to sense those creature, but the clones might not. And not every clones had infrared glasses with them.

 _Wait, I can sense infrared light._

"Master, I will go with Commander Colt." Onyx immediately spoke up. "There were plenty of vicious animal in there. I can sense the infrared light. I can see them. I will lead the way." He knew what he could do. He knew there would be nearly any clones left if they went into the tunnel without the Jedi. The Separatist general had declared that he was going to kill all the native people if both Amersu and Gyularen didn't show up. However, Wahilk didn't know that there was a padawan learner in their group too.

"It's dangerous." His master frowned. "And you just arrived."

"Master, I can do this." Onyx said, giving his new master his best determine face. "Seeing in the dark is what Estemians are good at. I will be useless at the commanding centre anyway." His voice was bitter at the end. Onyx hoped that no one would notice.

"Alright," his master nodded. "Then go now. Master Amersu and I will try to buy you as much time as possible."

"Thank you master," Onyx replied before he turned toward Commander Colt. He had a feeling that the clone commander was watching – no, observing - him for an unknown reason. However, this was not the time to care about something like that. They had prisoners to rescue.

* * *

Colt ran besides Commander Chatho up the mountain. The jedi commander was quiet since they left the command centre. General Amersu and General Gyularen were on their way to the base while Commander Del, the clone commander under General Amersu, was in charge of their temporary camp.

"There it is." He said as they reached the entrance of the tunnel. Commander Chatho stepped in front of them, before pulling the brown fabric which were used to cover his horns off.

"Stay close. No flashlight; it will reveal us to the native carnivores down there." The jedi commander said without turning back to them. "I suspect that the droids might be patrolling in the tunnel near the underground prison. Don't attack until I say so."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

They entered the tunnel slowly, and after a minute or two, all of them could barely see a thing down there. The night vision of their helmet didn't help much, but at least they could still see each other and the Jedi ahead. Colt knew this was hard for his men since most of them were taught to charge head on into the enemy, not to sneak into the enemy territory slowly like this. However, he had a feeling that Commander Chatho knew what to do. Also, he had a more serious little problem to worry about. As they weren't allowed to use flashlight meant they would have to stay very close to each other. He hoped the proximity would not have his brain decided to cook up some nonsense imagination. But Colt stayed close to the Jedi learner anyway, in case their new commander might need help.

"Stop," after a while the Jedi stopped walking. The rest of them stopped too, as the Jedi crotched down, with his hands on the ground.

"What is it commander?" One of the clone troopers asked what Colt also wanted to know. He didn't see anything except a dark tunnel ahead of them. But it seemed like the Jedi had sensed something.

"There is a giant carnivore mammal under the ground head of us." The Jedi commander replied, standing up. "Its ears and eyes are useless; it sense its prey by vibration. As soon as we're in range, it will snap up from the ground. I can get you all pass through the area it can sense. But stay still until I reach the other side."

"I will go first." Colt said on autopilot. He saw the commander nodded at him before the Estemian held both his hands up. Colt felt as if there was an invisible hands holding him, before he was floated across the flat ground. After that he was down on the ground again, and he could barely see his team.

The other clones joined him quickly, all safe from the beast hidden under the ground. Onyx then took a step back, before he sprinted and jumped across the hidden carnivores, and landed perfectly in front of them. Colt had to admit that he was impressed.

They moved on without crossing path with the native creatures much – thanked to the Estemian's special sensing ability. It was more than one time that the Jedi commander decided to carry them by the Force to get them to safety. Although Colt was a bit worried that it might make drained the Jedi's energy more than it should.

"Droids."

As the tunnel expanded into a large chamber, the Estemian stopped dead in his track. All of the clones stopped behind him and took cover by the large rocks around on autopilot even that they didn't hear the voice of the droids yet.

"The entrance to the prisons is at the other end." Colt whispered toward Onyx who was the only one standing in the open. He was about to ask how Colt knew there were droids when they heard and seen nothing. But then he remembered Onyx could sense infrared.

"I will take the droids out, can't risk them know we are here." The Jedi Commander replied, stepping forward. "Stay still until I get back."

And with that the Jedi leaner was gone. Colt mentally sighed. He felt like he and his men let their new comrades did all the work.

"Commander, I feel like we let the Jedi did all the work." One of his men, Trax, said. "I barely see anything."

"Quiet." Colt shut the trooper up even that he was feeling the same. He couldn't risk the droids sensing them. His men stayed still and silent after that. They then heard very faint sounds of lighsaber moving through the air - slicing through metals - several times. Then everything was silent.

Colt massaged the triggers of his blasters softly. The habit he picked up since he was still at Kamino. There was a faint sound of footstep, then came the Jedi Commander's voice.

"We are clear to go. You all can use your flashlight now."

Colt relaxed his posture before he stepped out from behind the rocks. The flashlights were activated and Colt felt a lot better to be able to see everything clearer. Commander Chatho was in front of them with no scratch at all.

"Let's go." The Jedi said and they all ran across the chamber. When they were half across, Colt saw broken droids which were sliced by lightsaber everywhere. From battle droids to commando droids.

 _This kid has been in a battlefield before._

Colt now was sure about his suspicion. However, he pushed it aside as they approached the entrance which was sealed close.

"The door needs a passcode to open, might take a few minutes." One of his men said as he examined the door. The other prepared for a chaos after they opened the door. However, Commander Chatho shook his head.

"There is no droid on the other side, only the prisoners." The Estemian said, activating his lightsaber. All the clone immediately stepped aside. They had heard about the Jedi liked to open the locked door with their lightsabers before, and some, liked Colt, had seen General Gyularen did it countless time.

The door was opened in less than thirty seconds and they all moved forward. Colt and the Jedi learner went first. They were now in a large chamber which was an underground prison. The native people were everywhere, behind the bars, forced inside small cages, and some were already dead.

They immediately went to work. The clones jammed or broke the doors open while Commander Chatho worked on opening cages with his lightsaber. In less than five minutes, all of the native people were out, standing and fidgeting in front of them. Most of the local wanted to go, but they didn't know the way. And most of them were also afraid of the clones.

"Commander, they are all out." Trax said as he broke the last prison cells which contained three children and two elders. The children ran out to join their family as soon as the door was opened. "What's next?"

"We get them out of here." Colt replied, turning toward the native who seemed to be the leader. "Sir, we are here to help. Please follow us." He hoped the rest of the native would know the middle language of the galaxy, or they would have to wait for the leader to translate his words first.

Luckily, the rest of the locals understood his words. He could see it in their eyes; hope and joy. However, in the corner of his mind, Colt just realized shouldn't it Commander Chatho who should talk to the local first? This realization had Colt felt guiltiness and disappointment ran down his spine. Of course it was not the rule that the Jedi would be the one shouting orders - but it seemed to be a silent tradition that, even in the same rank, the Jedi would be the superior. He should have remembered that they had a Jedi Commander on board now. Instead, he just let himself did the talking on autopilot. Damn it, he hoped Onyx was not upset or angry.

Despite his concerns and his disappointment toward himself, Onyx didn't even seem to care about him doing the talking. The young Jedi was just finished making an exit with his lightsaber as Colt turned toward him.

"This passage is clear, for now." Onyx said. It took Colt several seconds to realize the boy was talking to him, not the leader of the locals. "Droid patrols are coming. We have to be quick."

"Alright, let's move." Colt said and nodded to the locals. They then ran toward, with the young Jedi running in front of them. The plan was to get all the locals to the dumpster behind the base. There was a gate there, which would lead them toward the forest. This mission was to get all the locals to the forest. When they were saved, the Jedi Generals would begin their attack. Colt hoped that they would be able to get across the dumpster without problems. And since the droids didn't think that the dumpster would be any used for them nor the Jedi, they left it unguarded.

However, they weren't as lucky as Colt had wished they would be. A droid patrols spotted them as the last clone who ran behind the local line got passed the exit of the building. The droid shouted for reinforcement before Colt blasted its head off and Onyx slid the door shut with his force. Colt knew it was too late. The droids knew now that their hostages had escaped.

"Get them to the forest, I will hold them off!" The Jedi learner shouted, rushing back from the front line of the locals. Colt thought he heard the buzzing and clanking sounds coming from the inside of the base.

"Trax, gets them out." Colt said before taking cover. Three clones stayed with them while the rest escorted the locals out of the dumpster. In the corner of his eyes, he saw Trax rushing the locals toward the exit of the wall not far away. After that was a forest. As soon as the locals kept running, they would be fine.

"You should go with them." Onyx said without looking at Colt. No, he said without looking at anyone – to be exact. "I will hold them off." He added, and Colt shook his head. This kid knew nothing about him and his men.

"With all due respect commander," he said, chuckling. His fingers massaged the trigger of his blasters. "You can't ask us to turn tail and run. Besides, we can't let you do all the work." Colt added, watching the Jedi's expression changed from serious and emotionless to the surprised and regretful. He could tell that Onyx was taken aback by his words. The Jedi commander, and this surprised Colt as well.

 _What makes Onyx suddenly feel guilty?_

"No, I didn't… I didn't ask you to do that." Onyx stammered. There was a grimace look in the boy's eyes - also something that could be called as 'old scar'. Colt had a feeling that the young Jedi didn't stammer because he was trying to find an excuse, but Onyx was stammering because he thought he upset Colt and the rest of his men. And Colt knew the boy was feeling very guilty. "It just…" Onyx stammered again. "Our priority is to protect and escort the locals. Please, leave the droids to me. Only I is enough to buy them some time to escape."

"It's too late, sir." Colt replied as professional as he could, keeping his voice relaxed, but firm and neutral. The clone commander tried to pay more attention to the sounds the droids made. "Besides, it's an honour to fight alongside the Jedi." He added, not wanting the young Jedi to have an upset face for long.

Onyx immediately turned away after Colt finished. The boy's shoulders were tenser than usual - as if Onyx was uncomfortable with all of this - uncomfortable with his words; as if Colt had pulled unpleasant memories out of where Chatho had tried to bury them.

 _Did I?_

Colt mentally noted to ask Heneral Gyularen about Onyx's past after the mission ended. Well, if the General thought he could have that knowledge. General Gyularen was one of the most open person Colt had ever met – but the female Nautolan was also strict with what she had decided that she could, or could not, tell.

"Thanks." Commander Chatho replied quietly, nearly timidly, before the droids open the door with their blasters; they all snapped to professional modes.

Onyx jumped out from his cover and ran forward, in a speed Colt and his men could not follow, without calling any troopers to charge their enemy. Colt nearly shouted for the boy to get back; there was too many droids – he would get blasted. But then he understood what their Jedi commander's intention was. The boy intended to draw the droids' attention toward him, away from Colt's men. Droids were programmed to focus on an open target more than target behind covers. Onyx wanted to draw all the risk and danger toward him as much as he could.

Colt didn't like the boy's idea at all, but he didn't complain. He knew it was risky, but it was working well. _Jedi are quicker and stronger than clones. They are able to dodge the attack and give back as much. Now the boy has given us an advantage, we must use it._

"Commander Chatho is distracting them, this is our chance. Rocket Launcher, now!"

He told his men through the com-link. One of the clone, Vax, shouted his response. Their goal was to block the droids from exiting the base, destroying the passage to the dumpster to prevent these clankers from sending reinforcement.

Vax positioned himself behind the cover, rocket launcher in his hand. Seconds later, the building behind the droids, where they were exiting, were blasted. The grey wall shattered before collapsing. Rock, shatters, and metals fell down – covered the exit and probably the droids in the building.

"Thank you Vax,"

Colt heard Onyx said as the boy ran forward as soon as he saw a chance. Colt blasted the battle droids in the head as he watched the Jedi Commander jumped from one droids to another, slaughtering them. He shouted for his men before they all charged forward. He was not going to let the Jedi commander fought alone.

Their battle finishes in less than five minutes. Everyone was alive with some scratches. Two troopers got blasted, but they could still walk.

"Is everyone alright?"

Onyx asked, looking around. The Estemian's voice showed that he was unsure and afraid of something. The boy intentionally avoided Colt's eyes, no, avoiding everyone's face.

 _Why does he not look at me, or any of us in the eyes, or at least out face? What is he afraid of? Even if we're angry he will not see. The helmet has covered it all._

 _This is very suspicious. What happened in his past?_

"Everyone is good sir. Mitz and Nash got blasted at their legs and arms, but it's not fatal." Colt replied, intentionally stepping close to the young Jedi, silently forcing Onyx to look at him.

"That's good." Onyx nodded. Colt saw something in the boy eyes. It's an old scar – bad memories. The boy was sad and upset. Not upset with Colt or his troopers, but with himself.

Colt wished they weren't in the middle of the mission. He really wanted to know what's going on in the boy's head. _What made him so upset? What had happened to him?_ However, they still had the locals to escort. So they were on their way after they made sure everyone was alright.

* * *

Six hours later, General Amersu and General Gyularen had successfully capturing the base back. The separatist leader was also captured and locked up. The two Jedi General had scratches here and there, but nothing serious. Their reinforcement arrived shortly after that. The Republic had also sent General Fisto to help finish what they started, so both Jedis and their men had some times to rest. So now they all were heading back to Coruscant.

Colt made sure his men had nice meals and long hours for resting ahead of them before he headed to his room. Being a commander gave him a luxurious of having his own bedroom - even that it was large enough to fit only a bed, a locker, and a working desk. However, the best thing about his own room was that he also had a private bathroom. Starting the day without having to race for shower was one of the best things in the universe.

The clone commander put his helmet down on the bed and started writing the report. His mind still wandered back to Onyx Chatho. He was still curious of Onyx's actions. The boy looked as if he was trying to shield all the clones away from battle - trying to draw all of the enemy's attentions to himself. If there were other Jedis, Colt would have thought that they considered clone troopers to be useless in battle. However, from what he saw in Onyx. Colt was good at reading people through the reflections on their eyes and their postures. The boy didn't doubt in their abilities. He was trying to shield them because there was something in his past. Something that told Onyx to risk himself or he was going to be sorry again.

The clone commander finished the report quickly before he decided to take a shower. The clone commander didn't spend much time in the shower. After that he brought himself in front of a mirror, to make sure he had no stumbles on his face.

Colt was like his brothers; they were born with the same face. That's why most of them seek the way to stand out in the crowd. Something to make them different from their brothers. Some had tattoos on their face, while some got scars from the battlefield for distinguishes. At first Colt didn't have a mark on him or anything, until after one battle that made he finally got something to distinguish himself besides his shaved head. Two long narrow scars, starting from under his right eyes and went down to the angle of his right jaw.

Colt touched his scars and sighed. They were old and he did not concern about them. However, the new commander was. He had seen that Onyx had scars, and the boy seemed to not know how to deal with it. Colt decided that he had to discuss this with General Gyularen. Onyx probably was not going to tell his master about what had happened exactly. Also, this was not only about Colt's curiosity. It was also about Onyx's safety. He knew General Gyularen wasn't going to be please if she knew her new padawan had taken unnecessary risks.

After changing into his new armour, Colt stepped out of his room – a helmet in his hands. He was determine to go meet General Gyularen; then he saw that the Jedi learner he had been thinking about was in front of his room - fidgeting.

"Commander Chatho?" He called, raising his eyebrows. It he remembered it right, Onyx's room was probably in the upper floor. "How can I help you?"

"Commander, about..."

The boy started, but Colt had a feeling that he had forgotten something. And then he realized.

"Colt," He decide to interrupt. He remembered that he hadn't told Onyx his name yet.

"Pardon?" The younger one was clearly confused, so Colt continued.

"It's Colt. My name is Colt." He said, wanting to ask right away about the boy's past but deciding against it. If he asked; it was going to be a disaster. He hadn't yet gained the Jedi's trust, there was no way Onyx would tell him anything about his past.

"Colt," Onyx corrected himself. The boy's tone could still had Cold frowned as it didn't ring with happiness or satisfy of knowing their comrades better. He looked Onyx's in the eyes and saw that Onyx was delighted to know him, but there was also 'fear' in his eyes. However, Onyx continued before Colt had a time to process what he had seen.

"I want to apologize about ealier..." The boy started; his voice showed that he was slightly afraid of the outcome of this conversation. This made Colt ached his eyebrows.

"What..?"

"I didn't mean to upset you." The young Jedi quickly continued before Colt had a chance to ask. The pitch of his voice was high – indicated that he was excited, feared, or afraid. The pace of how he talked was quicker than in the battlefield hours ago. "I know you all want to fight. I'm sorry I upset you and the men. I didn't mean to..."

"Whoa, hold it there Commander." Colt put both of his hands up. He really needed to stop Onyx. It seemed like the boy had misunderstood them, clearly misunderstood them. "What did you do that upset us? We're not upset."

"When I told you to go." Onyx replied. "When I told you to go with the locals. I didn't mean that you and your men couldn't fight. I just wanted to make sure everyone would get out of there alive. I..." The Estemian bit his lips. It looked like he was about to say something he might regret saying it out loud. Colt guessed that it's about the boy's past.

"Commander Chatho, you have misunderstood." He said, thinking the Force that it's dining time, so there was no clones around. If they heard this conversation, there was going to be questions. Colt wasn't patient enough to have words with every men who might do something stupid after that. "We were not upset. None of us were. We know you did it to make sure we all get out of there alive, and we appreciated it." He continued quickly, didn't want the situation to get worse, but made sure his voice was firm, calm, and friendly. "It's me, who have to apologize."

"For what?" Now Onyx was obviously confused. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"For making you misunderstood." Colt replied, making sure his voice was even more calm and relaxed. He wanted the Jedi commander to relax more. Those small shoulders were too tensed for his liking. This was a delicate moment. "I will be more careful with my choices of word. Also, I have to apologize for crossing the line."

"Crossing the line?" The young Jedi frowned, confused. "I don't remember."

"At the underground prison. It should be you who talk to the local, not me." Colt said, slightly bowing his head in an apologize manner. "It won't happen again."

"Oh…that… um…" Onyx gulped, shaking his head, and offered Colt a weak smile. It might be the only type of smile the boy didn't have to put much effort to create. "Honestly, I don't mind. And, actually… I'm more than okay if you do it again. I'm not good at doing the talking as well as you. Besides, I like to work in the background when there are a lots of people around."

Colt was surprised by Onyx again. _Does this kid has social anxiety? No, not social anxiety. He had no problem with clone troopers around him. There must be something more._

"I should be on my way then." Onyx quickly continued before Colt had time to reply. "Thank you, Colt." Onyx said his name with a hint of hesitation, but at least he said it. After that the young Jedi was walking down the corridor, shoulders tensed, without giving Colt a chance to reply.

"Good day Commander." He managed to speak before the boy was out of ear shot. Onyx's shoulders relaxed slightly at his words, before the young Estemian rounded the corner and disappeared.

Colt made his way toward the bridge.

* * *

General Gyularen was there when Colt arrived. The Jedi was talking quietly to her fellow Jedis through a hologram. Colt recognized one of them to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, the famous Jedi Master. He waited patiently for the female Nautolan to finish before stepping toward her.

"Colt?" the Jedi turned his way, he knew she sensed that he had something to talk to her. "Something troubles you?"

"I have to speak with you in private, sir." He said flatly, eyeing the clones around them. The General understood, and together they walked out of the bridge. As this was dinner time meant that all clones without routine duties would be at the dining hall, so most of the corridors toward their bedrooms would be empty.

General Gyularen waited until they were alone on a large corridor before she started. Her voice was low and quiet, the tone she used when she wanted to know what troubled her comrades.

"So… what troubles you, Colt?"

"Commander Chatho," Colt replied. He could see General Gyularen titled her head but didn't say anything more. She was waiting for him to continue. "His performance during the mission. It concerns me - concern us." The word 'us' he meant his men. Not only Colt concerned about the young Estemian taking risk, Vax and Trax had also told him while they were travelling back to the ship that they didn't like seeing the young commander unnecessary risking himself for them.

Colt told the Jedi General about what had happened during the mission. He didn't forget to say twice that he and his men appreciated Commander Chatho's effort. Then he told the Generak about what he had spotted from the boy. He told her about sadness he saw in Onyx's eyes, and what Onyx had misunderstood. However, he decided to leave off the part about Onyx went to apologize him personally. He felt like keeping it secret between himself and the boy.

"…with all due respect, general." Colt said without diverting his eyes away from the General. "I want to know what had happened to him. He knew how to deal with the situation on the battle field. My consumption is that this was not the first time he was in the front line."

"You are right." General Gyularen sighed. "But you are not allowed to tell this to others, except that Onyx is okay with it; I doubt he will." The female Nautolan slowed down as she said. And Colt waited patiently for her to continue.

"Onyx had had a master before me." The General continued after several seconds. "He lost his master during the battle of Drittlyn. They were on their way to save to locals from the Separatist. Onyx got shot - not fatal. He retreated for the medic to look at his wound. When he could go out again, the Separatist had called their fighters out. Onyx rushed to help his master and the several clones which were still alive. He was too late, the droid fighters bombed them - nearly killed Onyx along the way. His master was dead, along with nearly every troopers around. He had to retreat, forced to abandon the mission and also the locals."

She paused a bit. Colt knew what she was going to say next was bitter, and he knew the General was disturbed about what she was going to say. "When the reinforcement got there, there was no local to save. Everyone was slaughtered. All men, women, and children. Onyx blamed everything on himself. His master's death, the loss of their legions, and the locals' death." The female Nautolan sighed.

"He stayed at the temple for a while." General Gyularen continued. "The healer and the Jedi council tried to help him with his mental state. In the end, they decided that the best way for him to recover is to send him back to the battlefield. Onyx has to face what he feared of most, or he isn't going to recover."

"What does he fear most, general?" Colt asked, even that he thought he already had an answer. He just wanted to make sure he got it right.

"Losing his comrades." General Gyularen replied, confirming Colt's suspicion.

* * *

Onyx sighed as he let the water ran down his body. He cleaned himself slowly, starting with his hair. He had several hours to himself while they travelled back to Coruscant. Onyx had already finished his report. He tried to write it as brief as he could. He always hated writing something like this. It reminds him of the last time he had to write a mission report…

The image of his old master being blasted to oblivion returned to him. Onyx grunted before he slammed his fist against the wall nearby. Maybe he should meditate. He had to control his breathing, he had to focus on the present.

'Onyx'

"Yes, master?"

Master Gyularen called him, and Onyx immediately replied, anything to distract him from the past.

'Meet me at the bridge.'

"Yes, master." He replied and the communication was cut. Onyx had a bad feeling about this. He hadn't talked to Master Gyularen much. However, he was able to tell from her tone that this wasn't good.

He arrived at the bridge shortly after being called. His Master was talking to one of the famous Jedi Master via hologram; Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Jedi Master Onyx was even more than familiar with.

 _Well, he was the one who rescue you…_

He shook his thought away quickly. This was not the time to think about the past. His master called him here because they had to discuss something. It's surely important. He couldn't preoccupied right now.

Luckily, his master finished talking with Master Kenobi before Onyx was besides her. He didn't feel like talking to Master Kenobi, not yet.

"You are here." His master smiled, turning toward him. "How are you Onyx?"

"Better, thank you master." He said, offered her his best smile. Well, it still looked faked and weak. He had to try harder. He wanted to be able to smile again.

"Good, follow me." His Master smiled, walking forward. "Commander Colt spoke highly of your performance in the battlefield."

"He was probably exaggerating." Onyx replied, keeping a neutral expression. It would be a lie if Onyx said that the clone commander didn't interest him. Colt had something inside his eyes, something that Onyx wished to know what it was. It that was so bright and warm, and it made Onyx afraid of what might happen if he got too close.

"Polite and humble - just like Master Kenobi described about you." The female Nautolan chuckled. "Don't worry Onyx. Trust in yourself and the Force. I know you will do the right thing."

"Thank you master." Onyx nodded. They continued walking for a while, mostly the female Nautolan telling Onyx about how she and Master Amersu captured the Separatis General. Right now he was on Master Amersu's ship, heading back to Coruscant. After that she told him about the Jedis of the Sith Wars - the legendary warriors – and histories of each one of them.

Onyx didn't notice where they were going as he listened to Master Gyularen. Then, his master stopped.

"…we are here." She said, and Onyx looked around. They were in front of the door to the training area.

Onyx didn't ask his master why they were here as they got inside. It was not the time the clones would come to train yet. They would have several hours to themselves. He guessed his new mentor wanted to see how well he fought.

"I haven't seen you in action yet." Master Gyularen said, stepping in front of him. Onyx nodded, pulling his lightsabre to his hand by the force. His master did the same.

Onyx's lightsabre was blue, while his master's was green. At first no one made any move, then his mentor jumped at him. Onyx rolled away from her sword and put his sword up to block her second blow. He blocked and retreated around the room, trying to push back when there were chances to do so. His new mentor in combat was very much aggressive than his last. She strike as soon as she saw a gap in his defence, fast and sharp, using every parts of her that could be used as weapons. Knees, feet, elbows; her blows showed that she clearly not intended to pull her punches. Onyx tried to catch up to her as much as he could. He knew he could not match her skills. He did not want her to be disappointed with him.

They stopped after several minutes later. His new mentor deactivated her lightsabre and put it back on her belt. Onyx did the same. His breath was a bit labour, why hers was still the same as before. Onyx knew he would not be surprised if her heart rate hadn't gone up during their practice.

"You are good." Master Gyularen smiled. "I think Colt wasn't exaggerating, right Colt?" She then turned to ask the wall far behind them. The wall with black glasses where the generals and commanders use to observe clone troopers' practices. The clones could not see them, but the people inside could see what happened in the chamber.

 _Colt has been watching us all along?_

Onyx thought as the door slid open. Colt walked in with several men behind him. Onyx remembered Vash and Trax. But the other two were new, to him. The one on the left had a scar on his left cheek, and the other one had a bird tattoo on his left jaw.

"Of course general, I was not exaggerating." Colt replied with a smile on his face. "The commander is very skilled."

"Indeed," Master Gyularen smiled and eyes Onyx as to dare him to disagree. Onyx gulped and decided to say nothing. He was having a hard time trying to look at Colt without showing his uncomfortableness. Of course he didn't think that Colt was a threat, he was unsure of himself – about what should he feel toward the clone commander. And he was so deep in thoughts that he nearly missed his master's words.

"I will let you take it from here Colt. If you need me, I will be in that room." The female Nautolan said and pointed at the wall with black glasses, walking away before Onyx had a chance to ask her what's going on.

"Commander Chatho," Colt turned toward him. "General Gyularen wished to see how we work in battles."

 _So she wants me to train with the clones. Alright. I can do this. Just another training. Turn on your 'professional mode' and get going._

"I will do my best." He replied to the clone commander. Colt gave a friendly back, something that made his heart skipped beat, before introducing the two clones Onyx didn't know to him. Quest the medic, and ARC Trooper Chuck.

* * *

"Colt, in your opinion, how was Onyx today?"

"He still unnecessary put himself between us and those clankers." Colt replied as he and General Gyularen walked back to the bridge. After their special training session end, General Gyularen had sent her padawan to get some rest, while she and Colt went back to the bridge.

"I see," The Nautolan General nodded, "and I agree. I will talk to him, just…"

'General! We have an emergency call. Please come to the bridge immediately.'

"I'm on my way." General Gyularen quickly replied, before she ran forward. Colt followed closely behind, and he had a bad feeling about this emergency call.

Well, emergency call has never brought good news anyway.

* * *

"Are you all alright?"

"Yes, sir."

Voices replies as clone troopers pulled themselves up from the ground. Some were helping their comrades out of the shatters.

Obi-Wan used the Force to pull a large pieces which was once a part of the ship off, and threw it meters away. He watched the clone trooper medic rushed to scene and turned away to scan the horizon. The planet they crashed on was not so bad, as if wasn't too hot nor too cold. As long as the Separtist didn't find them, he thought they would be okay for a while.

He could feel commander Cody walked toward him. The clone must had finish checking all the survivals.

"We lost five troopers, fifteen injured." The clone commander said, walking to stand beside him. "What are we going to go next, sir?"

"We wait." He replied, turning back to speak to all of his men when he heard a familiar sound of ship engines. The Jedi master snapped back and saw a Separatist Landing Ship.

"Looks like we cannot wait, sir." Cody said, looking at the ship that flew passed them to the South.

"Agree, let's get moving." Obi-Was said, sighing. He hoped the rescue team would come in time, before there was no one left to rescue.

* * *

"We will try our best, masters."

"May the Force be with you."

Onyx slightly bowed his head as master Yoda finished. The communication was cut and Onyx turned to his master.

"Emda's moon." He said, frowning. "There is nothing but forest and wildlife. Also a lot of swamps. I beg the droids will have a hard time searching for the survivals."

"They also made it difficult for us to track Master Obi-Wan." His master sighed, before turning toward Commander Colt. "Colt, I want three small squads that can perfectly operate in these kind of environment. Don't forget to bring stun gun and slings shot. We are going to use them a lot."

"Yes, sir." Colt nodded and walked out of the bridge. Master Gyularen then turned back to the table where Onyx had already pulled the hologram map of the moon of planet Emda's up.

They had just received the emergency call from Coruscant. Master Kenobi's fleet had been overwhelmed by the Separatist at Emda's moon. They had to flee; but Obi-Wan's frigate – the one he was on – had been shot and crashed onto Emda's moon. Obi-Wan was able to contact Coruscant before the crash. As Gyularen's fleet was the only available fleet near Emda – now they were on a rescue mission.


	3. Chapter 3

"No sign of General Kenobi, sir."

Vash said as he slid down the broken escape pod, joining the rest of the team on the ground. Colt then turned back toward Onyx. The young Jedi was with general Gyularen and Trax, examining the footprints.

"They headed that way." The female Nautolan said, pointing to the west. "We must be careful. Let's go."

"You heard her boys," Colt said before they followed Onyx into the endless field. A large mountain ranges could be seen as a blurred dark line at the horizon. However, before them and the great massif, a large swamp forest.

Colt kept an eye on Onyx as they proceeded across a large lowland to the swamp forest. He also saw the native animals here and there. They watched his crew with disturbing toxic yellow eyes, before disappearing behind bushes and rocks around the large field.

"These creatures won't harm us." General Gyularen said as she moved forward, and a small feline which had been standing on her way immediately ran away. "However, this isn't the same in the forest. When we reached the swaps, I want you all to be on the trees only."

"Understood sir!"

They reached the forest in less than four minutes. The footprints indicated that not only General Kenobi's crews had entered it, but also the droids. There were pieces – parts – of battle droids around the outskirt of the swaps, showing that there was a battle here.

"Kenobi was ambushed here," General Gyularen said, looking up the large trees in front of them. "They retreated into the forest. All of you on the trees, Commander Chatho and I will remain on the ground." She pointed toward the branches above. "If you see anything moves, do not shoot right away, inform Onyx and I first."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Colt and his men immediately get to the tree. The slingshots helped them scaled up the large tress in less than ten seconds. Below them, General Gyularen and Onyx moved forward slowly, and gracefully. The Jedis jumped from rocks to rocks, avoiding the water area where there were giant fish and snakes swimming leisurely.

It didn't take long for them to find scatters of droids, spreading around the swamps and the base of the tree. Some were blasted while some were destroyed by the native creature. General Gyularen smiled when she saw them.

"They seem like Kenobi's work." The female Nautolan smiled, cracking her neck. "The droid pieces are still warm. They are not so far away. Onyx, does your special sensory sense anything?'

"There are too many creatures in this area; I can't identify them. I'm sorry." Onyx replied, "But I think I feel them in the Force. They are close." He added.

"Yes, they are." General Gyularen nodded, "also those droids."

They continued on, and more droids they found. There was also a body of a dead clone, blasted. Colt saw Onyx's jaws clenched, but the young commander didn't say anything.

They were able to see the droids after a few minutes. General Gyularen signalled all of them to stop moving. She and her padawan moved forward, before they both were above the droids who seemed to be lost in this swamp maze.

Colt watched the young Estemain jumped from one droids to another, slashing their heads off one by one. Even that the droids were able to pinpoint Onyx and General Gyularen's position at the end, Colt and his men blasted them off before they could blast their two Jedis.

"There will be more of these clankers," Colt said when both General Gyularen and Onyx were up on the tree. "They must have spread up to find General Kenobi."

"There are a large heat signal in the west." Onyx said, crooking his head. He had already taken one of his horn's cover out. "The Force is pointing toward there… I think that' where General Kenobi is.:

"Let's go." The female Nautolan said, and they all moved forward.

* * *

"Cody, are you alright?"

"I'm okay, thank you General," Cody replied, letting Obi-Wan pulled him off the ground. Around them were trees and swamps, looked like there was no way to escape. However, the good thing is that those droids wouldn't be able to track them for a while, thanks to the Jedi General's trick of bringing the wildlife to fight with them – for them, to be exact.

"These Clankers just keep coming." One of the clones muttered, kicking pieces of droids around them with his feet. Cody didn't have to be a force-sensitive to sense that his men were becoming reckless. These swaps also made them no good. Their communicators were useless, and now they were stuck in the middle of nowhere.

"The rescue team are close." General Kenobi said softly, and Cody had to say he appreciated it. General Kenobi was special than others Jedi they had met, he had his way of calming his men. While General Skywalker used his easy going personality, General Kenobi was more calm and collective, yet the outcome was pretty much the same - as same as the way he and General Skywalker always took the lead in the battlefield. Cody and his men trusted General Kenobi with their life.

General Kenobi had his own way to show his men he trusted in them, and cared for them. It wasn't so obvious, but noticeable enough for everyone to feel. The way the brown hair Jedi addressed each of them, always by names if he knew theirs. The way he selected troopers for the team, but always respected their decision. The way he genuinely, yet not so obviously, asking Cody about each of his men condition after each missions – to make sure they were all alright.

"Master Kenobi!"

Someone called General Kenobi from their right. Then a female Nautolan Jedi appeared, along with a Jedi Cody had never seen before. Probably the female Jedi's padawan.

After the two Jedi were his brothers. Cody remembered helmet and the jaig eye of the leading clone; it's Colt.

"Master Gyularen." General Kenobi said, smiling. "I'm glad you are here."

"Glad to see you still alive too Obi-Wan," the female Nautolan smiled back. They started talking and Cody lost them from there, since he had to make sure every injured clones were tended. Colt immediately directed the medic to each clones needing to be attended, and Cody checked on the rest of his men.

"You are alright?"

Colt asked without looking at him. Cody shrugged, looking at the men around them.

"Never been better, and you?"

"Same," Colt replied before he gestured toward the young Jedi Cody had never seen before. "Unless for General Gyularen's new padawan." He added.

"That's interesting." Cody said, thinking of Commander Tano, General Skywalker's apprentice who often joined her master and his general in many missions. "Is he making everything easier, or more difficult?" He asked. Normally Cody wouldn't ask other clone commanders about their legions, but he and Colt were in the same class when they were cadets, so this was okay.

"A lot easier," Colt replied, slightly grumbling. "Even that he unnecessary put himself in danger to make sure my men would all survive. I mean; it's a good thing he cared about us – but he cares so little of himself."

"That's normal for the Jedi Generals and Jedi commanders I work with." Cody chuckled, thinking of the countless time his General had put himself between his men and the droids. Yet he did not know the whole situation in the missions Colt was talking about. Maybe this new Jedi was really pushing himself too much. Even that he wanted to see all of his brothers survived, Cody knew that a life of a clone was nothing when compared to a Jedi. Between a Jedi and a clone, it's reasonable to save the Jedi first.

"It's… I don't know. He made me worried." Colt replied, and Cody frowned under his helmet. Colt was one of the easy-going clones he knew. If something bothered him this much, it meant this was serious.

"But you have his back, don't you?" He said. "I know you are going to keep him safe."

"Yeah," Colt replied, nodding. Before he change the topic to something Cody wished he would not have to talk about. "So… you and General Kenobi?"

"Come on mate, drop it already." Cody rolled his eyes, even that Colt wouldn't see him did it. And to be sure, he turned off his com-link in case it might activate itself. This was not what he wanted anyone to know. "It's a physical relationship. Jedis are not allowed to form an attachment."

"Yeah, 'Jedis who have formed an attachment will likely have their decision based on their personal bias. It's a clouded decision.' – is what General Gyularen had said before." Colt said, "But did you form only a physical bond? Or is it also a mental one?" Cody knew Colt was probably grinning under his helmet.

"Both," he decided to be honest – there was no way Cot was going to let this go if he lied. "But it won't affect my duty. It's just a one-side relationship." He quickly added, wanting to make sure Colt would not be worried about him. No one had said that Clone troopers were forbidden from having a relationship - a feeling - for anyone, but giving their high risk of being wiped away from existence any time soon, forming a deep relationship with others was seen as a stupid decision.

 _Not to mention that I'm stupid enough to form it with General Kenobi,_ Cody thought, sighing mentally. He hoped Colt would not push this matter further.

"If you say so," Colt replied with a shrug, and Cody felt relief washed over him. His friend could be very persistent if he wanted to. Cody was glad Colt had finally dropped this subject.

/

Onyx looked around the area carefully. He was still using his special sensory to make sure there will be no droids sneaking up behind them. He had already remembered the heat wave of each things – both living creatures and non-living creatures. He was able to tell the different between a clone's temperature and a droid's. However, his special sensory still could be fooled if what he remembered had gathered in a large among, he would sense only a large heat area of something. That's why he still have to use his other sensory.

His master and Master Kenobi were on his left. They were talking about the droids and how they were going to get out of here. Onyx didn't feel like joining into their conversation, he wanted to be on guard until they were back on the Conservator.

"I've seen that you are doing well," despite Onyx's attempt to not be in any conversation, Master Kenobi still wanted to talk to him. Well, this Jedi Master was the one who went to rescue him after all.

"I feel better," Onyx replied. He liked this Jedi master, even that Obi-Wan didn't openly say that he cared about everyone under his command, Onyx could feel it. Also, Obi-Wan somehow made Onyx relaxed to be around him – knowing that this Jedi Master could guide him when he couldn't find the way.

"That's good." Master Kenobi replied and walked to join his crews. Onyx mentally sighed, it's true that he was better. But he was still uncertain of himself at some point.

"Commander."

One of the clones called, and Onyx abruptly turned toward the voice. It's Commander Colt. And if he was not mistaken, Colt's voice seemed to sound slightly gentler than usual.

"Colt," Onyx nodded. "Is everything alright?" he asked, checking the clone commander in front of him with his eyes. Well, Colt appeared to have no injuries.

"Yes," Colt replied. "Do you sense any droid nearby?" The clone commander gestures toward the trees around them.

"No," Onyx shook his head. "We should be okay for now."

After that they followed master Gyularen and Master Kenobi up the tress. Onyx was so glad they could finally be out of the forest and on their way back to the Conservator. He wanted the injured clones to receive a proper treatment as soon as possible.

* * *

"Cody,"

"General,"

The clone commander nodded at him as Obi-Wan walked out of the medical bay. He just finished checking on the survivors and already felt tired. Weeks after weeks of battles without any time for him to rest had already taken a toe on him. Right now Obi-Wan hoped the Council would let him rest for at least 24 hours before giving him his next mission.

They walked side by side without speaking. Cody wasn't a talkative type, which was okay for Obi-Wan. He already had a cocky former padawan who would not hesitate to state everything out loud. Cody was a quiet company, yet not uncomfortable to be with.

Without a word, both of them enter a small quarter which Master Gyularen had assigned for their temporary used until Obi-Wan could reunite with the rest of his unit. Well, actually the quarter was assigned for Obi-Wan, since the clones could manage to share their bunks for their brothers' temporary stay on their own, yet Cody followed him in. The clone commander just knew what Obi-Wan wanted without asking.

"I hope we can have some rest before the Council gives us another mission." Obi-Wan said, sighing as the door closed behind him. He didn't have to look back to know that Cody had already locked the door. Good.

"You should take some rest, general." Cody said, placing his helmet on the empty desk near the bed. This quarter looked nice, yet a bit too small for two people. Well, it was built for one person staying in the first place.

"Not yet," Obi-Wan shook his head. He stood up and placed his lightsaber on the desk near Cody's helmet. "Get out of those armours and join me in the fresher, then we will discuss about other stuffs we should be doing." He was already unclasping his belt as his legs took him toward the fresher door.

Before the door to the fresher closed, Obi-Wan could hear those armours hitting the floor. He smiled, removing his own clothes and placed them neatly in the washer. Yeah, every general's private quarter had an automatic system to take care of dirty clothes, washed them and dried them in one go.

Obi-Wan was already under the spray of warm water, massaging his scale, when he heard the door to the fresher opened and closed. Obi-Wan smiled, relaxed at the hand touching his head gently, before a kiss was placed on the back of his neck. Obi-Wan almost moaned. He had longed for this.

"You are too tensed, sir."

Soft familiar voice spoke, and a hand moved to massage his shoulder blades. The Jedi master smiled, let Cody touched him where the clone commander wanted.

"Then I'm expecting you to do something about that."

"Sir, yes, sir."

Obi-Wan hummed and let Cody wrapped and arm around his waist; his clone commander gently mouthed him. Cody was so gentle it made Obi-Wan wanted to scream for him to go faster. However, he restrained himself, knowing that both of them weren't allowed to be too exhausted when the Council had yet to confirm them a vacation after a long period of being in battlefields after battlefields.

* * *

Colt stretched as he walked out of the fresher. Showering was always the best thing for him after battle. Besides, he had already finished the report, so he would probably have sometimes alone for a few hours – which he had planned to spend on cleaning his weapons, and made sure he got some sleep.

However, despite how success this mission was, Colt had a feeling that he was going to be given another task soon. Sooner than he would appreciate.

/

Onyx reconstructed his lightsaber before he took it apart by the Force again. This was another way Onyx used to calm his wrecking thought. Meditation sometimes took too long for him, tinkering with his lightsaber was the best way to occupy his mind.

He had a brief talk with master Kenobi. Onyx was so glad the Jedi Master was still the same as he knew him. Master Kenobi was the one who found him under the storm of dust on Drittlyn – found him under the bodies of his former comrades. He told Master Kenobi that he felt better. Well, he did feel better, but he wasn't sure it's going to be enough.

After that he got back to his room, write the report, and had long nice shower. The feeding hall was almost empty when he got there. Some clones greeted him with smiles, and Onyx smiled back.

He was back to his room as soon as his appetite was taken care of. A long sleep helped him clear his mind, before he decided to do the light meditation with his lightsaber.

Onyx hoped that he would have a time for himself like this for a while, but from his experience, it was not going to happen anytime soon. And his thought was proven three days after that, when the Council contacted them, giving them another mission.

* * *

 _Six months after the rescue mission on Emda's moon._

"…Empress Saline's daughter has been kidnaped. We believed she was taken to Coronia; under the order of Admiral Duzla of the Separatist army."

"Coronia?"

Master Gyularen frowned. From her look Onyx knew it meant troubles. And yes, it sounded like troubles for him too. From what he knew, Coronia was one of the planets both the Separatist and the Republic had no interest in. It was half covered in ice, and half ruled by one of the most notorious crime syndicates; the Eleven Crowns. This group of untrusted people operate in the Outer Rim; their business ran on slavery and high jacking ships.

In front of them, Master Windu nodded before he continued.

"Duzla's former daughter in law is one of the leaders of the Eleven Crowns. Our intelligence reported that she decided to betray Duzla, keeping the daughter instead of handing her over. And now the Eleven Crowns is demanding free routes around the Empress star' system, or she won't be seeing her daughter again."

"Let me guess," Master Gyularen smirked. "The Empress does not know who is really behind this kidnapping, so she believes that the Eleven Crowns is the only one responsible."

From the look of Master Windu, Onyx knew General Gyularen was right.

"For a while, Empress has been considering which side of the war she will ally herself with." The Jedi master said, "After her daughter was kidnapped, she announced that she will ally herself with the one that rescues her daughter."

"So it's our job to get her daughter back before the Separatist does." His master said, and Master Windu nodded with a grimace. This made Onyx frowned - he had a very bad feeling about this.

* * *

Colt stepped into the Command deck, wondering about the new mission from Coruscant. He just finished delivering the supplies to several worlds under the Repuplic's protection when Vash contacted him, telling that General Gyularen wanted him on the command deck as soon as he was back on the _Conservator._

It had been six months that he had fought alongside Commander Chatho. Colt had to say that the Jedi commander was one of the best comrades he could ask for. The young Estemian always leaded the way when they attacked the enemy. He had never backed down, not until necessary or ordered to do so, and always be the very last to get on the ship when they had to evacuate. Colt always saw the commitment to protect his comrades in Onyx's eyes. Although Onyx still took an unnecessary risk for them, but at least he wouldn't argue when Colt or his men decided to take it with him. Colt called this a progress.

The clone commander had also learnt something more about Onyx. After a week with them, Onyx was more talkative and more open. Chuck was the first one to succeed getting Onyx to join their conversation. At first it was about the previous mission, then they moved on to weapons, strategies, and planets. Surprisingly, Onyx knew a lot about guns and fighters. The Jedi learner insisted that he knew only about the basic of flying and fighting with by fighter, but he still had proved more than twice that he was not to be underestimated in sky/space-battles.

Colt knew the event on Drittlyn still shattered Onyx's self-esteem sometimes. He didn't know if Onyx was still blaming himself for the death of General Deltran or not, but the boy was surely better than when he first arrived at the Conservator. Sometimes that memory affected Onyx badly - usually happened after the boy woke up or after failing missions - which Colt had to tell Onyx to stop blaming himself, and to trust in his own abilities. Onyx usually smiled back and thanked him. At first it wasn't working, and then it did. Colt could see it in Onyx's eyes.

Despite sometimes lacking of confidence, Onyx was very friendly toward everyone on the ship. He smiled politely when troopers greeted him, and his smiles would only get wider when he met someone he was more close to – liked; Colt, Vash, Quest, Chuck, Vax, and Trax. Right now Colt was confident that Onyx was no longer tensed when he was among them. The Estemian talked more and smiled more - the boy was clearly more _alive_ and happy than when he had first arrived to the _Conservator_.

After three weeks together, Onyx was more comfortable with them that sometimes the young Jedi spent hours with Colt and his brothers in the training room, helping Colt trained the rookies, or just discussing strategies and tinkering the guns with him. Of course Onyx had never talked about his former master, but the boy did sometimes mention about the missions he had received before becoming General Gyularen's padawan. Onyx had told Colt about the rocky mountains on planet Noba, where he was assigned to protect the native's land from the Separatist. And Aill, a planet half covered in water, where he had been assigned to chase down a murderer who had killed three Republic's spies.

They went on like that. Onyx often spent time with them after his Jedi training with General Gyularen, or after he finished writing those reports and doing some personal Jedi training stuffs. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they just sat there, all together. Sometimes there were only Onyx and Colt, sitting side by side in the training room, talking or doing nothing at all. Colt had found it strangely made him happy, to just sit there with the Jedi after the mission; whether they had succeeded or not, enjoying each other's presence. The clone commander would be lying if he said that he didn't find Onyx attractive. Despite his cute yet exotic look, the boy was smart, so humble and selfless – which the later had caught Colt's interest the most. He had a feeling that he wanted – needed - to protect Onyx, to make sure the young Jedi would return from every battle.

At first it was just that, but then the feeling grew to something else – something Colt had yet to identify. Well, Clones weren't trained to deal with their own strange emotions, they were trained to fight, and die.

However, Colt shook everything he was thinking off as he stepped into the elevator. Mission first, brooding about his own problems later.

/

Colt started to have a bad feeling as he entered the command centre of the _Conservator_. He instinct was telling him that he was not going to like this mission. However, as a good soldier he is, Colt brushed it away and head toward General Gyularen and her padawan. They were at the table which was used for discussing strategies and receiving transmitter from Coruscant for countless time.

"General; commander," he stopped near the table, "Reporting as ordered, sir."

"Colt." Onyx turned to smile at him, "how was the supplies run?"

"Smooth and on schedule." Colt replied, smiling back. It took Onyx one week to start talking to him or other troopers first. Right now it's something they did on autopilot.

"Good to hear that," General Gyularen said, and Colt straightened up – ready to be given a mission. The Nautolan Jedi moved her hands, ordering the hologram table to pull a map of one star system up. Then she isolated one planet from the other. Colt frowned, he knew this plant.

"Coronia, sir?" He asked, frowning. "This planet is full with scumbags." He said, remembering his last time on Coronia which involved blasting lots of bounty hunters and members of the Eleven Crowns. After that he had to make an escape by stealing someone's speeder, and nearly missed the leaving shuttles. Luckily that General Gyularen was able to pull him up to the shuttle by the Force, or he would have been blasted to oblivion already.

"Absolutely," General Gyularen sighed, zooming into the surface of the planet. She put up the map of Coronia; Colt had a very bad feeling about this mission.

* * *

After an hour of briefing, Colt walked out of the bridge with his helmet in his hand - heading toward the supply unit to get what he needed for this mission. Onyx followed him out. From the look on the boy's face, Colt knew the Estemian wasn't willing to go to Coronia.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Colt decided to ask when they both had stepped into the elevator – directing it to take them to the supply unit floor. "You look troubled." He added as the doors closed softly.

"I have a feeling that this mission will end up not like what we might have expected." Onyx replied. "I don't like deserts - lands of intense heat. I will barely be able to use my horns to sense infrared or heatwave in daylight. The heat blinds me."

"I don't think you will need them, kid." Colt chuckled. "You have said that you want to use them as less as possible; you said you wanted yourself to connect more to the Force - to use it in battle – let it guide you."

"I know," Onyx grumbled. "But I cannot use only the Force to guide me all the time, not yet, so I guess that using my special sensory when it's necessary isn't a bad thing – especially when we are going in this 'spying' mission - a very dangerous one."

"I know," Colt nodded, "but your infrared receptors might be able to operate after sunset – when the weather has cooled down." He said, trying to cheer Onyx up. And it's working; Onyx smiled.

"I hope so," the young Estemian Jedi replied before stepping out of the elevator as it stopped and the doors were opened. Colt followed Onyx out. They couldn't dress as a Jedi and a clone in their mission to those cities, that why they needed to go grab new clothes which were prepared for them first.

The Eleven Crowns controlled sixty percent of planet Coronia. They had built four giant cities – four enormous strongholds on the lands they ruled. Their intelligence believed that the Empress' daughter was somewhere in this three cities. And as this was the place where both Separatist's law and the Republic's law could not hit, it's better to dress as normal travellers.

Their plan was to get into each cities and find the daughter. The best way was to sneak into the Eleven Crowns' base inside each cities and extracted as much information as they could. And because they had to race against the Separatist, they needed to be quick. That's why general Gyularen had instructed Onyx to go with Colt to check out one city in the desert, and the other in the middle of a forest; the Nautolan general would check the rest – stating that they had to spread up to reduce the time using to locate the princess.

Colt grabbed his clothes walked back to his quarter. He had 3 hours of preparing before the ships took off. Onyx murmured 'See you at the hanger' before he was gone. Colt chuckled, already looking forward to their mission.

* * *

Two ordinary shuttles mostly used by space travellers were waiting at the hanger when Onyx arrived. He looked around and spotted his master not far away from the ship. She had changed into ordinary traveller's clothes, with brown cap and loose outer shirt which was long enough to cover her belt. The female Nautolan was talking to Commander Colt and a regimental commander nicknamed Flashlight, who will be in charge of the 703rd Legion while they were away.

"Master," Onyx said as he stopped besides her, letting her knew he was ready. "I'm ready."

"Good," Master Gyularen nodded before turning to Flashlight. "I trust you to take care of _Bomber_ until we get back."

"Don't worry General, have fun hunting." Flashlight, one of the most easy-going clone in this Legion nodded, Onyx guessed that he was smiling inside. He had worked with Flashlight many time during trainings. Flashlight always knew how to find humour in each situations, mostly in the worst ones.

"See you Flash," Onyx nodded at Flashlight before he and Commander Colt walked to one of the shuttles. He heard Colt and Flashlight exchanged a goodbye before the clone commander caught up to him.

Two shuttles slowly excited the hanger of the _Conservator_ , heading toward Coronia. Onyx relxed against the chair he was in. It would took a while before they would land on Coronia. Besides him was Colt, the clone commander was in brown traveller clothes, with a hat and a goggle. Onyx would be lying if he said he didn't like what he see.

At first he had thought that he would have a hard time get along with his new comrades. Then it appeared to be the contrary. The clones welcomed him without any condition, especially Colt. This clone commander was not fully the talkative person when compared to his men, but Onyx liked him. Colt had everything a clone commander needed to have, but with more friendliness and humours. Sometimes day he found himself spending time with Colt more than with his own master. Well, at first it wasn't easy, but Colt somehow manages to have him open up.

Onyx had never told Colt about his former master, but at least he was comfortable enough to tell Colt about his previous missions before he was with the _Bomber_. Moreover, Onyx found himself longed to spend time with Colt more and more. This clone made him felt relaxed, and somehow secured. He even thought about telling Colt everything, but decided against it. Jedi must not form an attachment, and therefore must be a line between Jedi and the troopers under his command. Onyx knew he must not let himself get too close, or he would definitely be sorry. It's not only about the Jedi's code, but it's also because Colt was a soldier, bred to fight and die in a battlefield.

However, the more Onyx repeated the Jedi's code in his mind, the more he started to suspect why he felt like he needed to restrain himself from feeling something – something which he had no idea of. The only two things he knew were that the feeling is growing and growing every passing day, and that Colt had something to do with it. This feeling worried Onyx because he did not know how he should react.

The young Estemian had thought of speaking about this issue with his master, but decided against it. Onyx reasoned with himself that he better be sure of what this feeling is before consulting with her, so they could get straight to the point.

And now, he was on the ship to Coronia, alone with Colt.

 _Knock it off Onyx, this is not the first time you and Colt have the same mission._ A voice in his head said. _Yeah, but this is the first time I'm actually being a lone with him in a mission._ Another voice argued. _Right, but what could have gone wrong? Colt and you are friends, comrades. You two have a mission to complete. Stay focus_.

"Commander,"

"Yes?"

Onyx turned toward Colt as the clone commander's voice pulled him back from his thought.

"I will take the first round, you can take a nap if you want to." Colt said, gesturing toward the back of the ship where they had bunkbeds and a small fresher. "I guess we won't have much time to sleep when we reach Coronia."

"I agree," Onyx nodded, getting out of the chair. He walked out of the cockpit and the door slid closed after he leaved. The door to the left was the fresher, the door in front of him was the exit, and the door to the right would lead to a sleeping quarter. The boy decided to take Colt's advice and walked into the sleeping area.

Onyx took the brown coat he was wearing off and laid on a bed. He stayed still for a minute, waiting for the sleep to claim him. Several minutes passed and he was up again, sitting on the bed legs crossed. He was not that sleepy, maybe meditation should have him fallen asleep quicker.

Onyx closed his eyes and reached out to the Force. He felt his surrounding, no lifeform in this ship except him and Colt. Onyx could feel Colt by both his special sensory, and by the Force. By his species' special sensory, Colt was a comfort human-shape heat. However, by Force, Onyx could feel calmness radiated from him. Colt's emotion was stable – focusing. The clone was focusing on something – Onyx guessed it was about their next move when they reached Coronia. He could feel this kind of presence from Colt when the clone commander was thinking about missions.

He tried to expend the radius of his Force sensing, but since they were moving there was not much he could do. Onyx opened his eyes and guessed that he would have to wait until they reached Coronia to try again. His former master always said that he must let the Force ran through him to be able to use it better. To do that was to _make your head blank_ – Master Deltran said – _usually you will succeed when you are semiconscious or half-awake_. Onyx remembered himself asking his master how the older Jedi knew that the Force will flow through them by that time, then Master Deltran smiled and shook his head. _The Force Flows through every living creatures all the time, child. It's up to us to be able to sense it_ ; Onyx replayed what his former master said again. He would be lying if he said that he did not miss Master Deltran.

Onyx then thought of Master Gyularen. The Nautolan Jedi's way of teaching which was quite different from Master Gyularen. While his former master focused mostly on the Force and let Onyx improved most of his lightsaber skills in battles, Master Gyularen focused more on the lightsaber training than the Force. She said that the Force was always with them, only meditation would bring them more understanding of it. _What you have to focus is your lightsaber. It's your life, your responsibility, and your defender. When you cannot reach to the Force, reach for your lightsaber – use it to save yourself and others around you_ ; that's what she said.

The young Jedi sighed and reached for the Force. He slowly pulled his lightsaber out from the traveller's clothes he was wearing. Onyx dissembled it, using the Force, before putting them back together again. He tucked it away and laid down, closing his eyes. Maybe this time he would actually get the nap Colt had suggested.

* * *

It was raining when they reached the outskirt of Dim City, one of the largest cities on Coronia that belonged to the Eleven Crowns. This city was in the middle of a forest, still expanding.

"Do you have an idea of where to check out first?" Onyx asked as he pushed an ordinary speeder out of the shuttle. Normally Onyx would prefer a jumpspeeder, but he could not use it in this kind of mission.

"I know a perfect place." Colt replied, pushing his speeder out of the ship after Onyx. They ordered the ship to shut down before going into the city. Onyx stayed close to the clone, trusting him to know his way around.

After an hour of travelling, Colt stopped in front of a large parking lot. Onyx followed the clone without asking why they had to park their vehicles here. He assumed that Colt already had a plan in his mind. Water was still pouring down from the sky and Onyx couldn't be happier that their coats and hoods were waterproof.

"Where are we going?" Onyx asked after they walked out of the parking lot. There were people everywhere. Despite the heavy rain, this part of the city was so alive with people, working people, and travellers. Liked every cities ruled by crime syndicate who was also a slave trader, there were slave markets opened at night, also brothels, bars, and casinos.

"There is a large bar in the underground area," Colt replied. ", it is where bounty hunters will gather. Every once in a while, there will be someone fool or bold enough to decide to hijack the base of the Eleven Crowns. Let's see if we are lucky."

"I see," Onyx grinned. He had a feeling that he liked the plan Colt had in mind. However, there was still one more question. "And if we aren't lucky?"

"Then we will have to do it ourselves." Colt shrugged, leading Onyx toward a large stairs that leaded them downward; the entrance to the underground area of the cities.

Onyx looked around when they were at the underground area. This place was a giant labyrinth filled with arenas, bars, brothels, casinos, and hotels; just like the town above them – just more populated since most travellers tended to avoid the rain by going underground. The young Estemian was sure he would get lost in here without Colt – who seemed to know where they are going, and which turns to take.

"You know the way around well," Onyx mentioned as Colt took another left turn, leading them further and further into the underground town. "Have you been here before?"

"Several times," Colt replied. "This is not the first time General Gyularen and I had to come to Coronia."

"So you have been here before." Onyx nodded, "Missions?" He asked, already curious.

"Yes," Colt sighed. "I guess you are going to ask me about it, right?"

"Absolutely yes," Onyx smiled, and Colt chuckled back. This guaranteed Onyx that Colt would definitely tell him. However, there was something more. Colt's chuckle had sent a strange sensation down Onyx's spine. He suddenly imaged Colt chuckled against his eyes, and the image alone could make Onyx almost blushed.

"Well, except for the Eleven Crowns, Coronia is one of the best place when you're looking for a criminal." Colt shrugged. "The Eleven Crowns doesn't care about what we do to the citizens or travellers, as long as their profits don't get involved. I've been here several times with General Gyularen, catching criminals and Separatists."

"I see." Onyx nodded, realizing that they were now in front of a giant double-door. A giant sign above them told Onyx that this was a bar. A very big one.

"We are here." Colt said before he walked in; Onyx followed him closely. It was crowded inside, full with bounty hunters, waiters and waitresses, and prostitutes. No one paid them any attention, which was good.

Colt took them to two empty seats at the bar. He told the bartender something Onyx didn't catch, since it was so loud in the bar. There was music, and people dancing. Pole dancers swung their hips with the beat, flashing their seductive smiles to everyone around.

"Are you bounty hunters?" the bartender asked when he got back with a bottle and two glasses. Onyx wondered what Colt had ordered, it smelt strong.

"We look like someone else?" Colt replied with such rough voice Onyx nearly jumped. Not Colt's normal rough, but an annoyed and slurring voice of someone who probably wasn't trained to be a soldier. Colt sounded sinister.

"No, not at all mate," the bartender held up both his hands, shaking his head before walking away. Colt snored and picked up the glass. He filled it with the liqueur before handing to Onyx.

"Not drink all of it in one go," Colt whispered, smiling. "It's strong."

"Nothing I can't handle." Onyx shrugged. He received the glass and smelt it. Damn, even his horns – the pair that had a highly sensitive scents receptors - said it's strong. "How we are going to find that 'bold and crazy' guy of yours?" He asked, draining half of the glass. Well, despite the smell, it's delicious.

"We search," Colt replied, reaching for the holo-pad that was attached to the counter. It was a holo-pad that showed job requests from random customers on Coronia. Colt slid the panel to find the job they wanted while Onyx watched with interest.

Half an hour passed and they had finally found the suitable job to be a cover for their mission. It appeared that there was no bounty hunter crazy enough to invade the Eleven Crowns' stronghold, however, there was a customer wanting something in the crime syndicate's base. The lead bounty hunter who got the job still wanted two more members for his team. Colt had immediately signed them up for interview tomorrow night.

"Great job," Onyx said, sighing, happy that finally they had a team to penetrate the Eleven Crowns' base. Bounty hunters tended to work in group when doing a big job. If they went with only themselves and got caught – their covers would probably be blown. "Colt, I think I'm drunk." He added, feeling his head slightly spin.

/

"What? Kid!" Colt sighed, tucking the bottle away from Onyx. The young Estemian murmured that he was unapproved of what Colt did, but didn't resist. The clone commander sighed again, really, Onyx wasn't this reckless, or did liqueur was Onyx's weak point?

"I'm drunk." Onyx repeated, resting his head against the counter. "But I'm glad you are not." He added. Closing his eyes.

"You are unbelievable." Colt shook his head before he looked at the bottle. _Wait, the liqueur was only 1/5 gone. Is this mean…?_

"Onyx, you are the cheapest drunk I've ever known."

"Glad I've broken your record." The boy slurred back. "Please get me out of here before I do something stupid." He pleaded and Colt rolled his eyes. Damn, he hadn't thought this mission would require babysitting. But then again, who would have known Onyx was a cheap drunk.

In the end Colt chelped Onyx too his feet and made the way out of the bar. Onyx could still walk, but he couldn't walk straight and often ended up with Colt having to hurl him away from a wall and people. Not that Colt minded, though. He loved spending time with this boy, even when said boy was drunk.

It took Colt a while to get Onyx to the room he had booked for them. Colt helped Onyx inside and let the drunken Estemian sat down on a bed. Onyx groaned and flipped down on to it, falling asleep with his coat and boots still on, with half of both his legs dangling out of the bed.

"Kid," Colt called, shaking the Estemian by his shoulder. "Kid, you are not going to get a comfortable night if you don't take out your coat first." He added, trying to wake Onyx up but it's no use. Onyx only groaned but did nothing to remove his clothes.

"Just great," Colt shook his head, but a kind smile appeared on his lips. Honestly, he didn't mind taking care of Onyx. And as the Estemian wasn't going to wake up soon, and they needed him to be fully operated without arching neck or back tomorrow, Colt decided that it's okay for him to help remove the boy's clothes.

He started with Onyx's boots, before removing the brown coat the boy was wearing and the belt. Onyx hummed but didn't move as Colt pulled him further up the bed, and finally tugged Onyx under the blanket. The boy stirred but didn't wake up – clearly comfortable as he buried himself deeper into the mattress.

Colt chuckled at the image he saw. He knew Onyx was going to get a slight headache in the morning – nothing a shower could not help. Colt then sat down at the chair between the door and the bed after he made sure Onyx was comfortable. He didn't know when the boy would wake up, but Colt was okay if Onyx slept until tomorrow morning. He didn't mind a lack of sleep, since it happened every time in the battlefields.

So that's how they spent the first night alone together. Onyx slept and Colt keeping watch. It was an uneventful night, yet Colt had a feeling that everything was about to escalate real fast.


End file.
